Source:REUTERS/VCG
[Saba Sports News] At the recent Malaysian Badminton International Challenge, Malaysian free-for-all player Lee Zhiming won the silver medal. However, what surprised everyone was that after winning the silver, he announced an unexpected decision — his retirement from professional badminton. According to reports, he failed to make the national team in October last year, which forced him to switch to the free-for-all category. Now, due to severe financial difficulties, he can no longer afford to continue his career and has decided to retire. Lee started competing on the BWF junior circuit in 2018 and made his debut in the senior circuit in 2022. So far, he has only participated in international challenge tournaments, international series, and future series events, but never won any title. Since free-for-all players must cover all their own costs for competitions, without sponsors, they often have to work part-time to support their careers. Lee currently works 10 hours a day teaching classes to raise money for travel expenses. He said, “I really want to continue playing badminton, but due to lack of funds, I had to retire. Right now, I hardly have time to train because I have to teach 10 hours a day just to earn enough money to go abroad for competitions.”